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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23443594">Sense of Belonging</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SawamurafortheSoul/pseuds/SawamurafortheSoul'>SawamurafortheSoul</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Brother's can make good Dad's [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Batman - All Media Types, DCU</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Brotherly Love, Damian Wayne Loves Dick Grayson, Dick Grayson is Damian Wayne’s Parent</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 13:14:30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,231</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23443594</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SawamurafortheSoul/pseuds/SawamurafortheSoul</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes our sense of belonging is shaped by who we are with.</p><p> </p><p>Edit* 03/12/2020 - Story has just been edited for clarity - no changes have been made to the story</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dick Grayson &amp; Damian Wayne</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Brother's can make good Dad's [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1712080</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>387</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Sense of Belonging</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is my first time posting a fic about the Batfam </p><p>I genuinely enjoy the relationship forged between Dick and Damian, I think it is really sweet. </p><p>Please leave a comment or Kudos ^-^<br/>(If you want to possibly see and extension of this please drop me a comment or pop over to my inbox on Tumblr michellemaqqie and I will try my best to keep the fics coming!!!)<br/>I'm sorry for bad spelling and grammar I haven't written fanfiction in years.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Light shines through the windows of the quaint Bludhaven apartment, light making the dirt in the air shimmer. In the background, he could hear the sound of the shower running and the melodic singing of one Richard Grayson; his older brother. Damian was used to the sounds of activity-filled mornings due to his time with the League of Assassins the sounds of morning training on the island but, the sound of this morning was more ‘domestic’ reminding him of the mornings seen on typical American sitcoms.</p><p><br/>
Mornings at the manor in contrast are very quiet it was as if the manor had been placed on mute, breakfasts with Father were quiet the only sound was of cutlery and the turning of newspaper pages. When he lived with Grayson at the penthouse it was loud and cheery, the sizzling of oil frying eggs, the sounds of the coffee machine pouring away, and Grayson prancing around Pennyworth in the Kitchen as they listened to the radio.</p><p><br/>
To him, mornings with Grayson were normal, where he found comfort in the morning especially since coming to Gotham.</p><p><br/>
Damian sat on a stool in front of the island in Grayson’s kitchen, in his hands he cradled a cup of black tea sweetened with one sugar cube as he waited for him to finish his shower before they breakfast together. He had prepared for his brother a normal cup of coffee with a dash of cream; he would never do this for Father, yet here he was preparing some for his brother.</p><p><br/>
Though his relationship with his Father and Grayson where quite muddled as Grayson often crossed over the roles between concerned older brother and father, whereas with Father he still felt as if he were spending time with a stranger. Damian could deduce it down to he had simply spent more time with Grayson, who took it upon himself to care, teach, guide, and love him. Grayson was often mistaken as his Father during the several month's long absences in which Father, his biological father was stuck in-between time; though he wouldn’t put it past the imbeciles at Gotham Academy to mistake Drake for being his biological brother.<br/>
The entirety of Gotham had turned towards Dick Grayson, ward of the infamous Bruce Wayne to applaud him for doing such as noble thing as leaving his job as a police officer in Bludhaven to return and run Wayne Enterprises and look after his unruly lovechild, who public had perceived as mouthy, rude and overall a spoiled brat. Perhaps the public’s perception of him was right Damian had the tendency to give his input no matter the situation and he looked down on his peers who adhered and followed like sheep, Mother always told him that the only way to truly lead was to be assertive and to take what you had to, to benefit your crusade.<br/>
Grayson, on the other hand, had told them their judgement lay only in the colour of his skin and his unique accent a blur between American, British, and Arabic. He often told Damian about when Bruce first introduced him to Gotham as his ward the uproar in high society, how dare he allow someone of his background into their perfect little bubble. That he as a young half Roma man with his tan skin, slightly accented English, and his very publicly known past as the poor little circus orphan corrupt their impeccably well-bred, high society bubble by simply looking different.</p><p><br/>
Grayson affirmed in him to have pride in his Arabic heritage, to have pride in himself as a person of such a rich cultural background, one with traditions thousands of years old.</p><p><br/>
The expectations and standards he had held his Father to before coming to Gotham had been unfulfilled by Bruce Wayne the Batman himself but had somehow lived through his brother.</p><p><br/>
Damian was abruptly brought out of his thoughts as the bathroom door had opened and Grayson came out of the shower, a towel wrapped around his neck and sweatpants clad his legs; his muscular physic on display painted with the copious number of scars and healing and new bruises from his nightly endeavours.<br/>
“Whatcha thinking so hard about this early in the morning Dames?” he questioned as he made his way over, spotting the cup of coffee prepared for him.<br/>
“A plebeian like you wouldn’t understand if I tried to explain it to you anyway” Damian replied as he sipped his tea.</p><p><br/>
“Alright whatever you say, so what do you want for breakfast? I’ve got cereal, toast, or I could cook you something?”</p><p>“Cereal will be fine.”</p><p><br/>
“Okey dokey, one bowl of cereal for the gentleman at table 3 coming right up.” Grayson proceeded to prance around the kitchen pulling out bowls, and spoons before getting the milk and cereal out of their respective locations. Cereal was dished out and eaten in silence, but unlike the silence of the manor this was a comforting silence, one made merely because mouths were busy not because those present had no interest in interaction.</p><p><br/>
This silence made him feel as if he belonged here in his older brother’s apartment, sitting and eating breakfast together as if it were a routine; that belonged only to them.</p><p><br/>
                                                                                                                      ~</p><p><br/>
It didn’t matter last night to Dick Grayson that his little brother had appeared outside his window, perched on the fire escape, clearly upset. If he was, to be honest, it gave him a sense of relief that Damian trusted him enough to come to him when he was at his most emotionally vulnerable. On the other hand, it saddened him knowing that he was connecting with his Father, sure he grew up with a stubborn and sometimes emotionally distant man, but he knew the sort of man that Bruce could be when he truly asserted himself to the situation.</p><p><br/>
But then again, the relationship with Bruce was entirely different and Damian knew that Bruce had chosen Dick whereas with Damian they were connected by blood.<br/>
 A relationship forged rather than one pre-chosen.</p><p><br/>
But perhaps it was also selfish of Dick to desire a paternal bond with the boy but then again, he spent months of his life dedicated to raising and shaping him. He knew more about the boy than Bruce most likely ever would. But that didn’t mean he still wasn’t hopeful that they would forge a relationship that would ensure a higher level of trust between the two of them.</p><p><br/>
But, Damian was here on his couch in his Bludhaven apartment and miles away from his Gotham home and he was going to take advantage of that while he could. He swept the disgruntled boy into his arms and murmured words of nothing but pure affection into his silky, soft hair.</p><p><br/>
They spent the night on his couch eating take-out from the local Pakistani restaurant down the street as the boy released his pent-up frustrations about their Father. They passed the night on by watching a crime documentary and competing to see who could solve the mystery faster before they made their way to bed. <br/>
Damian and Dick shared a bond that goes beyond the realm of normal sibling relationships, it blurred the lines of father-son. For Dick, it gave him a renewed sense of belonging, and as for Damian, it allowed him to feel as if he finally belonged in this foreign land.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is my first time posting a fic about the Batfam </p><p>I genuinely enjoy the relationship forged between Dick and Damian, I think it is really sweet. </p><p>Please leave a comment or Kudos ^-^<br/>(If you want to possibly see and extension of this please drop me a comment or pop over to my inbox on Tumblr michellemaqqie and I will try my best to keep the fics coming!!!)<br/>I'm sorry for bad spelling and grammar I haven't written fanfiction in years.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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